It had been one of those nights days afterwards, when his words had still laid fresh upon her mind, that Kenna had found herself wide awake after a rather particular dream. A dream she forgot the details of as soon as she opened her eyes, but of which the feeling remained within her. A need to find something she had lost. But what was it she had lost, among all those things? She sat upright and pulled the blankets up to her chin, covering herself up in a warm cocoon of cloth as she stared into the darkness of her small room, and at the light from outside that shone through her small window. A sigh escaped her lips, and with it a soft current of wind blew through the room, caressing her skin. It startled her. There was no way any type of breeze could get into the room… so how? The dragon slayer let out a short yelp as she looked back in front of her and noticed a shadowy figure looking back at her, eyes flaring red pupils in the darkness. Its arm extended towards her with a beige cylinder object in it. It extended said arm until it nearly reached her, then dropped the parchment and disappeared the moment it touched her bedlinen. ”W-what was…. Akhator, was that you?” The fire god replied almost instantly within her mind. ”If only. I’m just as baffled as you child, mostly because I didn’t even feel its presence...utmost concerning.” His voice betrayed he was frowning, even though he didn’t have a physical body to do so. Avide replied right after. ”Milady, same counts for me. Neither seen nor hurt until you noticed it.” Kenna sighed, had to dismiss her worry regarding the shadow as the parchment he left before her instinctively called out for her attention. Her fingers slid across the smooth paper, broke the seal upon it with a single snap, and started reading the contents of what seemed to be a request… addressed to her personally.

Mysterious Individual wrote:

Kenna,

I’ve seen you from afar. You seem strong, but I want to see if you are truly worthy, and therefore I wish to observe that strength for myself. Thus I bring this challenge before you; head towards the Forest of Lost Cries, where sunshine no longer penetrates the ground and defeat the forces that have tainted to world within. If you succeed, the path towards your salvation shall reveal itself before you... as will the reward.

We shall meet again if you fulfil my expectations.

It was as such that as soon as the sun shone its rays upon the rooftops of Ace of Spades that Kenna had set out for Spooky Forest. Unknowing why now of all times she did not seem bothered by going out alone. Something called her from far away. The letter bearing the request to her had a more powerful message than just that. It felt like her gut told her that by taking on this request rather than to dismiss it, she would gain that long-lost thing she dreamt of. She’d recognise it when she’d come across it, she reckoned. With that intent she had left the village behind. At the rise of dawn, without any of her companions to join her. Avide had been confined to remaining at home, to the large dragon’s disbelief. He must be sulking somewhere right now.

For two days she travelled at a relaxing pace, taking train, carriage and her trusty legs to carry her to her destination, which now loomed in the distance like an omen. Spooky Forest. It brought back some memories she’d rather not be remembered of, if she had to be fair. Yet she could not deny what had happened here before had made her stronger. Today this challenge would do too. The trees, nature and very atmosphere in the vicinity changed the closer she got to the actual forest; life seemed to trade for death, and light for darkness. Followed by a deafening silence as she stared at the forest before her. The looming darkness. The eerie feels. The ravenhaired demoness swallowed an upcoming lump in her throat and stared at the forest. Akhator, as supportive as ever, sneered within her mind for her wavering bravery, and saw it affect the maiden in the way she’d expected it to do. ”I’m not scared! Watch me, you presumptuous ass.””Cute, now off you go scaredy cat. Ain’t got all day to piss your pants.” Kenna muttered some utmost colourful cussing vocabulary underneath her breath, all directed at the fire god’s soul within her as she stampeded off into the forest. Nigh aware of the many dozens of eyes already following her every move.

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Last edited by Aura on 25th September 2018, 10:13 am; edited 1 time in total

Omens were a fickle thing. They could come in many forms, and rarely could they be read accurately until the time came that their interpretation was vital. Or sometimes they weren't even hints towards the future: sometimes they just guided your hand. Today was an example of the latter.

Itori was out in the fields, trying to gather some food. While she could always go shopping inside civilization she didn't want to get too accustomed to getting all of her food from stores. If a time came that she couldn't rely on shops and markets she'd still need to be able to gather food on her own terms. As her sandalled feet waded through tall grass the kitsune looked around, vermillion eyes sharp and her nose tilted slightly upwards as she sniffed the air. No wildlife directly in her surroundings, no choice but to keep moving onwards. At least her mask prevented the animals of the wild easily spotting her, otherwise this could take the entirety of the day.

A twitch of her ear and the white-tailed medium stopped walking, instead looking upwards as a shadow moved across her face. High above her something fluttered in the breeze, slowly falling downwards. A scrap of parchment, except it was too regular for it to just be a piece of trash. Furthermore, the closer it came to the ground the more clear it became that it would end right on top of Itori, so the fox patiently waited for it to finish its slow descent. Once the parchment was low enough she held out her hand, the wind carrying the scrap right into her hand even before she used her thumb to prevent it blowing away again. Bringing it down to her face she read the letter silently.

Mysterious Individual wrote:

Spirit Fox,

You seem strong, and to see if you are truly worthy I wish to observe that strength for myself, and thus bring this challenge before you; head towards the Forest of Lost Cries, where sunshine no longer penetrates the ground and defeat the forces that have tainted to world within. If you succeed, the path towards your salvation shall reveal itself before you... as will the reward.

Free the soul bound by greed

Itori read the letter several times, after which the parchment was consumed in a brief burst of pale blue flames. With the ashes scattering upon the winds the humanoid fox stood there for minutes, then turned around and headed towards the Forest of Lost Cries, more commonly called the Spooky Forest by many. She had no clue who had written the letter or what their true intentions were, but she felt like she couldn't just dismiss this out of hand.

Approaching the outskirts of the forest Itori narrowed her eyes behind her mask as she could already sense that this was an unusual place. The liveliness of the world outside couldn't penetrate the still shadows that engulfed the forest. This was a place inhabited by the nastier type of spirits, who filled the air with negativity and who would possess the weakminded if given an opportunity. Standing in front of the first tree Itori placed her hand against the bark, concentrating briefly before shaking her head. She couldn't get rid of this gloomy aura. It was ancient and as much part of the forest as the trees themselves. She might be able to remove individual spirits, but this place would attract the darker type of spirits no matter how many she might exorcise.

Instead of wasting her time feeling bothered by this knowledge the fox stepped inside, her own presence barely noticeable as her mask made her appear more a wandering ghost than an actual person. Her white and red quickly faded in with the rest of the gloomy outgrowth as she made her way deeper, her ears sharp and directed outwards as her vermilion eyes scanned the world before her. Her eyes weren't as sharp as those of humans, but she still had the better night vision. Together with the gloomy aura the forest had the typical results of being inhabited by the lower kind of spiritual entity: the trees might have plenty of leafs to somewhat justify the darkened atmosphere, but they had grown twisted and with faded colours. No surprise that it was called the Spooky Forest.

As she walked Itori abruptly turned her head as she head footsteps from someone else, her own muffled by the enchantment of her mask. Those weren't footsteps of a spirit. Who else was here, and why would they visit this place? Her three tails trailed behind her as she moved away from her own path and instead silently headed towards the other person who had decided to infiltrate this forest, relying on her own stealth and the power of her mask to let her get the first look. If this was someone who had just wandered in by accident (unlikely as that was) she'd have to make sure they got out safely before she continued her own journey. This place wasn't safe for outsiders.

The shadows that danced around the make-shift path made the raven-haired maiden awfully weary of her surroundings. Even if there was supposed to be nothing there. No sounds that could indicate peeking eyes, no scent betraying anyone being close to her, nor any bodily presence her eyes could perceive. Whether it was due to any of these circumstances, or the lack of, the slayer found herself becoming nervous at the continued nothingness. Her senses ever-so alert. But nothing came. Nothing happened. Only the shadows moved around like a dance macabre, trying to lure the slayer into a fit of insecurity, to have her wander off the path she was supposed to follow. Although tempted, she did not fall for it. Yet. Kenna sighed shortly and stared at the leafy roof above her, noticing even there the faint colors of the outside had faded despite the lushness of the trees.

Even Akhator had remained silent as soon as they entered the forest, not even sharing his usual snarky comments with or about his hallowed vessel. A curious turn of events, even for the otherwise to proud Fire God. ”How come you remain so quiet? Something bothering you?" Kenna asked. "Yes, you are now you've opened your mouth." Akhator snapped at her, which made the ravenhaired maiden grin. "Well, looks like you're fine after all. Even I get worried by your sudden silence.""You should be, child. This forest bodes nothing good, and to be fair this specific thing has been sending shivers down my spine... and that says something if a being without spine proclaims such things." Akhator muttered, his tension spreading through Kenna's body instead. Upon feeling how shifty he was, she couldn't help but ask. "What's wrong, Akhator? I can feel you're tense but not why you're tense..." she asked, to which the Fire God replied almost instantly. "Just this overall situation. Even in a cursed forest there should still be signs of life, where there is not here. That and the fact you actually decided to take the invitation of this whatever that wrote that letter. Are you crazy? It just screams "Trap!" all over it, but no, you just up and go without a second thought. Honestly, what am I to do with a vessel like you...?" she heard Akhator sigh in the back of her mind, and sort of shrugged his tantrum off.

"Frankly, I'm not sure. The sensation I got from this letter wasn't a bad one, and regardless, together we can face any foe, right?" Akahtor facepalmed at the last part of Kenna's reply and growled. "My god, why did you have to put me in such a dimwitted child Hakaze, why?" he mumbled to himself before going quiet again as Kenna kept on walking further down the path. As time went by the feeling of unease seem to creep further unto him, and not soon after he felt like whatever was giving him this weird sensation was -if so to say- right behind them. "Kenna, for once don't ask any questions and pull Zanbato out. NOW." The sudden change in his voice made the young maiden alert, and as she extended her hand the giant sword appeared into her palm in a blazing sea of flames. As soon as the flames dispersed she clenched both hands around the grip and readied it in front of her, to the unknown and yet unseen 'threat' Akhator was sensing. "Step unto the road and show yourself!" Kenna rose her voice as she spoke, loud enough for anyone in a close-by vicinity to hear. She wasn't sure what it was that got Akhator so on edge, nor whether it was a good idea to just shout out into the nothingness; for all she knew she might just have been calling nearby monsters towards her location instead. The only thing she was certain of however, was that something was near. And she was prepared to receive it had it ill intentions.

The owner of the footsteps was still relatively far away, the only reason why Itori even picked up on it being the fact that there was nearly no other sound and the fact that her ears were really, really good. This was good, since she wanted some time to prepare in case the walker wasn't friendly. Her cursed prayer beads were wrapped around her left arm, and with a single shake she could make them slide down to curse and seal a target. It had taken a lot of practice before she could position it to be shaken loose that easily without it constantly sliding out at the worst moment. Her right hand rested on the hilt of her sheathed sword, ready to draw and strike with a single moment. Beyond that she moved cautiously, combining the strange magic of her mask with years of travelling alone to make herself little more than a faint spirit as she slipped from tree to tree. With the faintest of illusion magic she augmented the effect even further, making her outlines appear vague and uncertain to anyone who managed to see her so they'd have trouble seeing whether she was real or just an image. It wouldn't make her invisible, but piling a lot of little things on top of one another was often as good as using one powerful effect.

As she got closer she also got the opportunity to listen closer to what this other wanderer was doing. Her footsteps were clear but she was moving relatively slowly. Wary but not skulking, and from the steady stride it was also clear that this person wasn't afraid, or at least wasn't letting it influence their legs. She closed her eyes briefly as around her the world unfolded into a complex map of echoes, her sharp ears picking up on them with accuracy and sharpness surpassing that of a bat. Further ahead... The weight behind the footsteps combined with the length of the stride indicated an adult female. An adult male would have been heavier, a child taking big steps wouldn't have such a regular and steady walk. At least, if this was a human. The footsteps sounded like those of a humanoid, but if it was something else Itori would have to be closer to be sure. For now she just kept moving. The wanderer was moving deeper into the forest, and if they went too deep getting the wanderer back out if they didn't belong here would get troublesome. Nests of darkness like these rarely gave up their prey easily.

When she had gotten close Itori confirmed with her ears that it was a humanoid, although her spiritual side sensed something that made her uneasy. Whatever was up ahead, it wasn't fully human. And it carried with it the dangerous vibe of something from the planes of agony and rage. Demon? What would one of those be doing here? Itori's grip on her hilt tightened as her vermilion eyes narrowed almost into slits. Her stance with the twisted spirits was dubious: she was aware that they were formed of suffering and thus pitied them, but they threatened to destroy souls which was unforgivable. What would she do if she were facing a demon here?

No time to think about it, because it looked like the wanderer had sensed her presence. Dangerous. How had she done that? Itori didn't think she'd betrayed her approach, but apparently she had been careless in some way. Maybe this person didn't sense her using physical means... hiding yourself from someone with sharp supernatural senses was always tricky. Itori could solve it with illusions, but the more illusions you used the harder it was to conceal that something was amiss... and she wasn't strong enough to completely dominate someone's reality without some serious effort.

The wanderer was demanding that she showed herself, so Itori had little choice but to step out from between the trees and face her fellow stranger. Several yards ahead of her Kenna would see a rather traditional figure step out: a woman with a white kimono jacket and a red divided skirt, with a kitsune mask covering her face. Silver-white hair framing the mask and reaching to the shoulders with prominent fox ears, and behind the woman three long flowing fox tails covered with fur of the same hue as her hair. One hand hidden by the wide sleeve of the jacket, and the other hand resting on the hilt of a pure white katana hanging from her hip in a pure white sheath.

"Why have you entered this realm? It is a dangerous place for those who don't reside here." The woman appeared to make no sound except from her voice, which was lyrical and soft but with an ethereal and nearly haunting tone to it. "Were you lured here? The denizens of this forest most likely call outsiders with whispers and dreams."

Itori was pretty sure she heard more than one voice, but that didn't change much. For now she focused on appearing too otherworldly to attack recklessly. Trying to appear hostile would just make it easier for this woman to treat her as an enemy, and acting too friendly could make the woman too demanding. With her mask augmenting her already spiritual nature and with her entire appearance looking like it belonged to a creature from folklore she could hopefully figure out what this woman needed and why she was here before deciding to guide her back outside or... whatever else she had to do.